Lawsuit Update Center
The Paragard IUD is a widely used contraceptive device implanted in thousands of women. Unfortunately, the Paragard has certain design flaws making it highly prone to fracture during removal. Women who suffered serious injuries due to their Paragard IUD fracturing during removal are pursuing legal action against the device manufacturer and may be entitled to financial compensation.
Paragard Litigation Updates
Our law firm is dedicated to keeping both attorneys and victims informed about the latest developments in the Paragard litigation. We understand that staying up to date on case filings, judicial rulings, and settlement discussions is critical for those navigating this complex legal landscape. That’s why we provide regular, detailed updates on the Paragard MDL, ensuring that plaintiffs and legal professionals have access to the most relevant and timely information. Whether it’s changes in discovery deadlines, bellwether trial progress, or regulatory concerns, our commitment is to transparency and advocacy in the pursuit of justice for those affected by the defective Paragard IUD.
Click on the updates that interest you.
March 13, 2025: Delays in Bellwether Trials and the Impact on Settlement Talks
Predicting the settlement timeline for the Paragard IUD lawsuits is like trying to guess when a game of legal chicken will end. Both sides have strong incentives to blink first, but no one wants to swerve too soon. Are we absolutely certain a settlement will happen in 2025? Not at all. But the signs are there.
With thousands of cases consolidated in the MDL and bellwether trials on the horizon, Teva Pharmaceuticals and the other defendants are staring down the barrel of potentially massive jury verdicts. Discovery has unearthed damaging internal documents, bolstering the plaintiffs’ case. Meanwhile, for the women who have suffered painful and life-altering injuries, the prospect of prolonged litigation is less appealing than the certainty of compensation.
So both sides have every reason to negotiate. Defendants want to control their exposure, and plaintiffs want justice sooner rather than later. Will 2025 be the year? If history is any guide, mass torts tend to settle when the risks become too great to ignore. And for Paragard, that moment might finally be on the horizon. It has been a long time in the making.
March 7, 2025: New Cases Continued to Be Filed
February 22, 2025: The Role of the FDA in the Paragard Lawsuits
As the Paragard litigation progresses, the FDA’s oversight of the device has become a key issue. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have increasingly focused on the FDA’s interactions with CooperSurgical and Teva Pharmaceuticals, arguing that the agency raised concerns about breakage risks as early as 2019.Defense attorneys have attempted to use the FDA’s continued approval of Paragard as evidence that the product is not inherently defective. But that is not what the FDA does. The FDA’s role is not to assess liability but rather to provide regulatory oversight, which does not absolve manufacturers of legal responsibility when a device causes harm.
The FDA’s involvement could become more relevant if the agency issues updated safety warnings or requires additional labeling changes. Any new regulatory action would further bolster plaintiffs’ claims and likely influence the direction of the settlement talks.
February 5, 2025: MDL Case Count Growth and Settlement Talks
October 14, 2024: Bellwether and General Discovery Progress
The MDL judge has issued an order addressing the case’s scheduling and discovery processes. The Defendants requested that bellwether discovery move forward alongside general discovery, while Plaintiffs objected, citing the Defendants’ delays in meeting their discovery obligations. Despite these concerns, the Court agreed to proceed with bellwether discovery in parallel to ensure the case progresses toward trial.
The Court also acknowledged the Plaintiffs’ concerns about the Defendants’ incomplete discovery. It set a deadline of March 15, 2025, for the Defendants to certify that all outstanding discovery has been completed. Additionally, the Court plans to hold a case management conference in January 2025 to review the Defendants’ compliance. Any unresolved objections by the Defendants to these timelines will be discussed at the next discovery conference. The judge noted that the issue surrounding custodial file productions remains unclear but will be addressed as necessary going forward.
April 11, 2024: FDA Concerns About Device Breakage
April 1, 2024: Gradual MDL Growth
March 1, 2024: Spike in New Case Filings
January 15, 2024: Early Case Count Reporting
Overview of the Paragard IUD
The Paragard, an intrauterine device (IUD), serves as a long-term contraceptive method for women. Manufactured by Teva Pharmaceuticals, it has been available since the late 1980s. This IUD features a specially designed copper coil linked to a plastic base and is inserted into a woman’s uterine cavity.
Once in place, the copper coil slowly dissolves over a span of 10 years. By releasing very small copper particles, it effectively obstructs fertilization by blocking sperm from reaching the egg. While the Paragard IUD has demonstrated high efficacy in birth control, it has encountered several issues over the years, including the recent problem of fracturing during removal, leading to potential harm and subsequent legal action by affected individuals.
Paragard Fractures During Removal
Similar to other IUD devices, the Paragard IUD is designed for easy removal from a woman’s body at any time. Ideally, the Paragard should maintain its integrity throughout its use and the removal process. However, a significant design flaw in the Paragard often leads to the device fracturing within a woman’s body during attempted removal.
The Paragard IUD has a distinct removal thread that extends from the device’s base into the woman’s vagina. Upon removal, doctors are expected to locate this thread and gently extract the device. The base of the Paragard contains two T-shaped arms responsible for securing the device in place. These arms consist of a flexible type of plastic intended to bend upward, facilitating the device’s passage through the cervix during removal.
Unfortunately, in numerous instances, the flexible plastic within the arms at the base of the Paragard appears to undergo a transformation, becoming brittle and rigid after residing inside the body for several years. As a result, when doctors attempt to remove the IUD, these arms fail to flex as intended. In such cases, one or both of the plastic arms of the Paragard IUD often undergo fracture and break into fragments inside the woman’s body.
Injuries Caused By Paragard Fracture
When the Paragard holding arms fracture and break off during the process of removal, the fragments of the device that break off inside the woman’s body can cause various internal injuries. The broken pieces of the Paragard often end up embedded in the uterine wall, which can cause extreme and chronic pain. In many cases, the arm fragments eventually puncture through the wall of the uterus and end up impacting other organs. This can cause several very serious health problems including:
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
- Chronic abdominal pain
- Vaginal bleeding
- Infection
- Infertility
Once the arms of the Paragard IUD break within the woman’s body, safely extracting them becomes a very challenging task. The initial approach involves attempting to locate and extract the fragments using a hysteroscopy procedure. This procedure entails inserting a small endoscopic device equipped with a camera through the cervix and into the uterine cavity, aiming to remove the fractured Paragard pieces. However, if these fragmented pieces have already become embedded in the uterine wall, hysteroscopic removal is typically not feasible.
In cases where hysteroscopic removal is not possible, the only alternative methods for extracting fragmented Paragard pieces involve: (a) surgically opening the uterine cavity, akin to a C-section procedure, or (b) performing a hysterectomy. Both options are invasive and carry significant implications—surgical access to the uterine cavity poses risks and potential complications, while a hysterectomy, while effective, results in permanent infertility for the woman.
Paragard IUD Class Action Lawsuit
Thousands of women who have suffered internal injuries as a result of their Paragard fracturing during removal have filed Paragard product liability lawsuits. All of these cases involve the same basic allegations: that the Paragard IUD had a design defect that caused it to fracture inside the body during removal.
The Paragard lawsuits began growing in number starting in late 2019 and in 2020 all Paragard lawsuits in federal courts were consolidated into a class action MDL. The Paragard MDL was assigned to Judge Leigh Martin May in the Northern District of Georgia.
Since it was first established, the Paragard class action MDL has grown very steadily each month in terms of new cases. It now has over 2,000 cases in the MDL. Unfortunately, the proceedings int the Paragard MDL have moved very slowly. The first bellwether trials in this MDL were not scheduled until nearly 3 years after the MDL began and they are still a year away.
Paragard MDL Update: Potential IUD Settlement Amounts (March 2025 updated)
The Paragard IUD lawsuit settlement amounts remain uncertain as the Paragard MDL moves forward, but legal experts anticipate a resolution soon. While no bellwether trials have taken place yet, the growing pressure on Teva Pharmaceuticals and other defendants could lead to settlement negotiations in 2025.
Settlement payouts in the Paragard IUD lawsuit will likely depend on the severity of injuries suffered by plaintiffs. If a global settlement is reached, cases will be categorized into different tiers. The highest settlement tier will include plaintiffs who experienced severe and permanent injuries due to a Paragard IUD fracture, such as infertility, internal organ damage, or serious infections.
Meanwhile, cases in lower settlement tiers will involve plaintiffs who suffered less severe injuries, such as temporary pain, discomfort, or minor surgical complications. Those with mild injuries in the Paragard class action will likely receive lower compensation.
Estimated Paragard Lawsuit Settlement Amounts
Although settlement negotiations have not yet begun, this is our our best guess of the potential Paragard IUD lawsuit payout structure.
| Settlement Tier | Estimated Settlement Amount |
|---|---|
| Tier I (Severe Injuries) | $175,000 – $380,000 |
| Tier II (Moderate Injuries) | $40,000 – $75,000 |
| Tier III (Minor Injuries) | $10,000 – $30,000 |
The reason for the significant gap between Tier I and Tier II settlements is the nature of the injuries caused by Paragard IUD breakage. In a small percentage of cases, breakage results in life-altering complications, making them high-value cases. However, in many instances, the injuries are less severe and temporary, leading to lower payouts.
Are we sure about these numbers? Are we positive they are coming in 2025? No and no. We could end up being way off base. But these are our best settlement amount estimates based on what we know.
Contact Us About a Paragard Lawsuit
If you had a Paragard IUD device that broke or fractured during the removal process (or while implanted) you probably have a valid claim for financial compensation. Contact us today at 888-322-3010 or contact us online for a free consultation.
